Kato

Why it is on the list

Kato holds two Michelin stars in the 2026 California guide, after one star in every California guide from 2019 to 2025.¹ Jon Yao cooks a Taiwanese tasting menu, and the bar holds a Michelin award for its cocktails.² The dining room serves the full tasting menu; the bar serves a shorter version of it, with a traditional or a vintage wine flight and an alcohol-free flight made by the bar team.³

It is the wrong table for gluten-free, allium-free, soy-free, nightshade-free, seafood-free, vegan or vegetarian diets, which the kitchen does not cook for, and for a dinner with young children, who are not seated in the dining room.⁴ For a room of your own, take the private cellar room at Somni.

How to get it

Book a table on the restaurant's reservations page, which runs through OpenTable; questions go to info@katorestaurant.com or (213) 797-5770.⁴⁵ Tables for the dining room and bar tasting menus are booked from 5:00 to 8:30 pm, and bar seats for snacks and drinks in the same hours; the restaurant is closed Monday and Tuesday.⁵ The dining room menu is $325 and the bar menu $185, with wine flights at $145 or $185, and an 18% fair wage and operational fee is added to the bill.³ Cancel at least a week ahead or pay the full menu price for each guest; a table is held for 15 minutes past its time.⁴

Discretion

Kato is in Building 1 of The Row, an Arts District complex, with parking at 777 S. Alameda St.² A booking can be passed to another guest by name if you cannot come.⁴ Guests at the bar must be 21 or older.⁴